Emmanuelle Riva did not attend the Nominees Luncheon yesterday in Beverly Hills. That has something to do, perhaps, with the BAFTAs being on Sunday and it might be too much at her age to go back and forth from LA to London and then back to LA again in a week or so for the Oscars. Or maybe it’s because she’s not playing. Let the young(er) ones hustle on the campaign.

But have you seen Amour? I have it on my Top 10 movies of 2012 and no, Pitch Perfect was not a typo. Yes to Pitch Perfect and YES to Amour. Although it should come with a warning. Amour isn’t ugly-crying. Amour is beyond ugly-crying. Because ugly-crying is almost...cleansing. With Amour there is no relief. Especially not when you have aging parents, and definitely not when one of those parents is sick, requiring constant hospitalisation. Even when you have children, at a certain point, as much as you love them, you know they have their own lives, their own responsibilities. If you are fortunate enough to have a partner, you know you only have each other. It is the cruelest reality -- that when a beautiful bond ages, it becomes depressingly fragile, not because there is no will to survive, but because it simply can’t.

Anyway, although Riva appears to be stepping aside on the circuit while Academy members contemplate their ballots, the others are actively trying to secure as many votes as they can. Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Lawrence, Quvenzhane Wallis, and Naomi Watts were all at the Nominees Luncheon yesterday and then most of them also hit up The Hollywood Reporter event later on.

On style, I’ll give the edge to Naomi Watts in a gorgeous little black dress at the luncheon and then a white blazer with silver jeans later on. Second place Jessica Chastain in Erdem in the afternoon, then a black peplumy dress for THR, although I wish she chose a different pair of shoes. Jennifer Lawrence’s luncheon beach towel was a miss, especially with the black pumps, and her glittery Versace seemed a little extra in the evening, non?

As for Hushpuppy, here’s what happened when she met Denzel Washington, according to Scott Feinberg at THR:

“What's your name? Are you up for an Oscar?" She replied "Yes, best actress," and (Washington) asked her for what. When she told him, he exclaimed, "Ohhhhhh! Your hair was all wild!" He asked her, "How's all this been for you? Do you miss school?" She replied, "Not really," prompting hearty laughter. And, after posing for some photos together, he said, "Well, very nice to meet you!"

It’s not that Washington didn’t know Quvenzhane Wallis. It’s that he didn’t recognise her. I almost don’t recognise her and I’ve seen Beasts Of The Southern Wild several times. She was 6 when they shot it. A third of her life has gone by since. And her look was just so distinct in the film, that’s what you keep expecting to see when you read her name -- the little girl in a white beater tank and rubber boots.